Update: the IEC postpones release of the preliminary results by a week; it confirms that its provincial chief in Khost has been arrested on charges of violating various election laws.
This summary, or parts of it, have been compiled by Colin Cookman of the Center for American Progress, for which we’re very grateful. Colin was part of our Kabul-based media team during the election.
Update: The supply line through Pakistan gains media attention with growing fears for food security this winter; the provincial IEC head accused of election fraud has been named, and, according to the NYT, arrested; and the ECC says it has received nearly 4,000 complaints so far.
Update: The “Pakistan Taliban” has taken responsibility for the torching of tankers heading for Afghanistan; a senior Taliban official has also said the organisation has yet to receive any word from President Karzai; three DAI officials kidnapped with a British aid worker have been released, but say they have no knowledge of her whereabouts. In Balkh the ECC says it has identified IEC and provincial government officials as reportedly involved in election irregularities.
In this update: IEC says three of its workers were killed and another 22 kidnapped during the electoral process. The Torkham standoff continues, with 20 oil tankers attacked by suspect militants in Pakistan. Eight private security firms have been disbanded in Afghanistan.
In this update: IEC forwards names of one provincial IEC chief to ECC for investigation. Standoff over Pakistan’s closure of the Torkham checkpoint continues. Karzai follows through on his promise to dismantle foreign private security companies.
In this update: IEC forwards names of candidates to ECC for investigation. Standoff over Pakistan’s closure of the Torkham checkpoint continues. Karzai says the international community may leave Pakistan “as they left us in the past.”
In this update: Some compelling first-hand reports of the election and its aftermath mix with some interesting analysis of the first IEC returns from the Afghan Analysts’ Network. The block of convoys through Pakistan continues.
In this update: Pakistan confirms block of NATO’s main supply route; early results from the northern province of Takhar suggest that candidates close to factions in the Northern Alliance have done well. Opium production down by half, but prices go up and cultivation remains steady.
In today’s news: IEC invalidates votes. De Mistura calls for partners to focus on peace. Taleban reconcilation will undermine womens’ gains, say womens’s rights groups.
In today’s news: deputy governor of Ghazni killed in bomb blast. Karzai names members of new High Peace Council, including many faction leaders with long histories of opposition to the Taliban.
